Floor maintenance machine with suction



N. N. oxuu 2,801,437

FLOOR NAINTENANCE MACHINE WITH SUCTION Aug. 6, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 27, 1954' FIG. 6

INVENTOR.

.NATHANIEL N. OKUN ATTORNEYS 1957 N. N. OKUN 2,801,437

- FLQOR MAINTENANCE MACHINE WITH SUCTIQN Filed 'April 27, l954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. NATHANIEL N. OKUN A T TORNE YS United States Patent Q FLOOR MAINTENANCE MACHINE WITH SUCTION Nathaniel N. Okun, Far Rockaway, N. Y., assignor to Atlas Floor Surfacing Machinery Corp, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 27, N54, Serial No. 425,870

3 Claims. (Cl. --325) This invention relates to floor maintenance machines, and more particularly to such a machine provided with suction means to remove and trap dirt, and in other cases powder generated by the machine itself, as when used for abrasive purposes with the aid of sandpaper, steel wool or the like.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a suction means in a floor maintenance machine of a well established and favorably known type using a horizontal circular tool. The tool itself may be a brush, or a sandpaper wheel, or other known tool. it has already been proposed to use an inverted channel permanently mounted around the housing of the circular tool, with a suction fan connected to said inverted channel. A feature and object of the present invention is to dispense with the need for such a channel, and to devise a suction type machine the diameter of which is no greater than usual for a specified brush diameter. This has the advantage that when brushing or Waxing a floor the machine will come close to the wall or baseboard, instead of being held away by the surrounding suction channel.

A further object of the invention is to insure a high velocity movement of air or nozzle action at the tool, and to distribute this nozzle action entirely around the periphery of the tool. This is done in rather simple and inexpensive fashion by using the housing of the tool as a relatively large suction chamber above the tool, to which chamber the suction fan is connected. The small clearance between the housing and the periphery of the tool provides the desired high velocity air movement, and insures a uniform distribution of suction entirely around the tool even though the fan is connected at a single offcenter point.

A still further objectof the invention is to provide an accessory fan mechanism which is readily added to an existing floor maintenance machine which is already in use, in order to convert the same erliciently and inexpensively to a suction type machine.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide the floor maintenance machine with a long flexible hose and suction cleaner attachments, and to so design the machine that the suction fan may be used with the attachments, thus making it possible to completely clean a room while using the present machine.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the floor maintenance machine elements, and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a floor maintenance machine embodying features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lower or working portion of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a partially sectioned vertical elevation of the machine taken in the plane of line 33 of Fig. 2;

'20 to housing 12.

Patented Aug. 6, 1957 ice construction and taken in the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section showing how a flexible hose may be connected to the fan after removing the tool; and

Fig. 6 is a'perspective view showing how the hose and attachments are used with the machine tilted back on the floor.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1, the floor maintenance machine comprises a housing 12 for a horizontal circular brush or other tool, the said tool being driven by a main driving motor 14. A suction fan generally designated 16, driven by a fan motor 13, is connected to the housing 12 by means of a pipe 20. A dust collecting filter means, in this case a porous bag 22, cooperates with the fan 16. A flexible skirt 24 is secured to the housing 12, and extends down close to the floor around the brush or tool when the latter rests on the floor.

Referring now to Fig. 3 of the drawing, the motor 14 drives the brush 30 through a double compound gear train comprising a pinion 32 meshing with gear 34 driving a pinion 36 meshing with a gear 38 at the upper end of a shaft 40, the lower end of which carries a brush driving clutch The brush 36 has an adapter or connector 44 which interlocks with the clutch 42, but is readily disengageable therefrom, so that the brush is readily removed for substitution of another tool, or for use of suction cleaner attachments as later described. The gearing is fully enclosed in a gear housing 46, which is prefer.- ably oil filled, and the bearings are preferably sealed bearings to prevent oil leakage regardless of the angle at which the machine is disposed.

The suction port of fan 16 is connected through pipe It will be observed that there is a fairly large chamber 50 within housing 12, above the brush 3t), and around the gear housing 46. It will also be observed that the housing 12 closely surrounds the periphery of the back of the brush 39. For example, in the specific machine shown the brush is fourteen inches in diameter, and the clearance between the periphery of the brush and the inside of the housing is a matter of only one-eighth inch. The result of this construction is that air moves upward around the periphery of the brush at high velocity, there being a nozzle action due to the constricted annular passage around the brush. Because of the large size of the chamber 56, compared to the constriction of the annular passage, it is feasible and adequate to connect the suction fan 16 to the housing 12 at only a single port as indicated at 52. The suction is substantially equalized around the brush even though the connection 52 is far offset from the center of the brush, as shown.

in Fig. 3 it will be seen how the flexible skirt 24 is received in the groove 54 which ordinarily carries a rubber guard or bumper. Indeed the skirt 24 is preferably made of rubber, and itself acts as a guard or bumper. However, it extends downward close to the floor, and preferably about one-thirty-second inch from the floor, or even less.

Reverting to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the skirt 24 is preferably slit with a series of vertical slits 56, the said slits preferably being uniformly spaced a short distance apart, say one and one-half inches apart. These slits have the advantage of adding to flexibility, and permitting the skirt to bend freely without injury if the machine is rested on the floor without having a brush or other tool in position. Moreover, the slits tend to open slightly near the bottom edge of the skirt when the skirt touches the floor, thus providing small air passages through which air moves radially inward at high u velocity, thereby aiding the dirt collecting function of the machine.

The fan and dust bag arrangement are further shown in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawing. They may be conventional and require little description. The connection 23 of bag 22 to the fan outlet 17 is a detachable one, and the bag is openable across its full width at its upper end in order to facilitate emptying.

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing, I there show how the machine may be used for suction cleaning purposes by means of a flexible hose and attachments. Specifically the machine is tilted back as shown while resting on its Wheels 106 until the handle 78 rests on the floor. The brush or the tool is readily removed without the use of tools. This exposes the suction port '52 previously referred to. The said port is slightly tapered and dimensioned to receive a mating metal pipe or nipple 62 at one end of a flexible hose 64. The hose may be a standard flexible fabric hose of the type used with cylinder cleaners, and is so shown for simplicity of illustration, but it preferably is a rubber hose of the bellows or accordion type, which has the advantage of being not only flexible but extensible. In a typical case it is only six feet long when contracted, yet is readily pulled out to sixteen feet long as needed in the course of use. In Fig. 6 it will be understood that the other end of hose 64 is adapted to detachably receive any one of a number of attachments such as the attachment 66, and this may be carried, if desired, by one or both of a pair of metal extension tubes 68 and 70. The usual variety of attachments, though not shown in the drawing, are provided.

Reverting now to Fig. 3, the port 52 is formed by the lower end of pipe 20, which in turn is received in a socket 76 formed on housing 12. The outside diameter of pipe 20 preferably corresponds to the outside diameter of the handle 78 of the cleaner, and the socket 76 is preferably the same socket as is ordinarily used for the handle. The housing 16 of the suction fan is preferably formed integrally with a fan intake port 80, and a handle socket 82. The port 80 receives and may be permanently secured to pipe 20. The socket 82 is dimensioned to receive the handle 78. The pipe 20 and handle 78 are preferably in alignment when viewed in plan, so that the handle 78 is disposed on the centerline of the machine, as will be seen in Fig. 2. When viewed in elevation a slight change in angle is permissible, as shown in Fig. 3, in order to maintain desired handle height. The fan housing encloses the rotor 84 of the fan, which in turn is driven by motor 18 carried by the housing.

The advantage of this construction, taken together with the mounting of the flexible skirt 24, is that existing floor maintenance machines which are already in use, may be converted to suction machines by simply adding the accessory thereto. Specifically, the handle of the nonsuction machine is removed and inserted in socket 82 of a suction fan attachment, which in turn is inserted in the socket 76 from which the handle was removed. The old rubber bumper is removed from the periphery of housing 12, and is replaced by the skirt 24. The main flexible supply cord 86 (Fig. 1) enters the handle at its upper end, and leads to a main power control switch 88. A cord then runs down through the handle 78 and emerges at 90, where it terminates in a plug 92. This was formerly plugged into a receptacle 94 on the main motor 14, but is now plugged into a receptacle 96 on fan motor 18. An ordinary toggle switch is provided at 98 to control the fan motor 18, so that the machine may be used with or without a fan. A short length of flexible cord 100 extends from box 102 to the socket 94. If desired another toggle switch may be provided for motor 14, but even in the absence of such a switch the fan motor may be operated without the main driving motor by simply pullingthe plug 104 away from socket 94.

'The wheels 106 are conventional, and require no detailed description. They are carried on arms 108, pivoted at 110, with the parts so disposed that the wheels will remain gravitationally in either raised position, as in Fig. 3, or lowered position, as in Figs. 5 and 6, for they move past dead center in either case.

It is believed that the construction and operation, as well as the advantages of my improved floor maintenance machine, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The machine is compact, and its housing is no greater in diameter than is the case with a nonsuction machine. It is therefore possible to bring the brush action close to the baseboard of a room or to furniture. Excellent suction is provided because of the high velocity of the air, which in turn is obtained by using the small clearance between the brush and its housing as a constriction or nozzle. Moreover, the housing is larger in volume above the brush, which in turn results in uniform distribution of suction around the brush, even though the fan is connected to the housing at only one offset point.

When the brush or other tool has been removed the suction port of the housing is fully exposed to readily receive one end of a flexible hose, so that the suction fan may be used with various cleaning attachments of the kind which heretofore would require bringing a cylinder or other type of conventional suction cleaner to the room, in addition to the floor maintenance machine. With my improved construction a single machine may be used for the entire job.

Another advantage is that non-suction machines may be converted to suction machines at minimum expense.

It will be understood that while I have shown the machine fitted with a brush for scrubbing or waxing, etc., it may also be provided with tools for other purposes such as sanding wood or cork, or steel wool treatment of asphalt tile or linoleum, and in all cases the dust or dirt resulting from abrasion is sucked into and trapped by the filter bag.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, changes may be made in the structure shown, without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims. In the claims the term closely surrounding is meant in a relative sense, and means merely close enough to distribute the suction around the tool and to produce a high velocity movement of air.

I claim:

1. .A .floor maintenance machine comprising a horizontal circular tool rotatable on a vertical axis, a circular housing and skirt providing a fairly large chamber above said tool but closely surrounding the periphery of said tool at the floor, a suction fan having an intake port connected to said large chamber above said tool by means of a socket, a dust collecting filter means connected to the discharge port of said fan, a handle, a short pipe connecting the suction fan to the socket on the housing, said pipe being in substantial alignment with the handle of the machine, and said pipe having the same diameter as the handle, whereby the socket is adapted to act also as asocket for the handle.

2. An accessory for converting a non-suction floor maintenance machine to a suction floor maintenance machine,-the said non-suction machine having a horizontal circular tool with a horizontal circular back and being rotatable on a vertical axis, a housing forming a chamber above said tool and closely surrounding the periphery of the back of said tool, and a sloping tubular socket leading into said chamber and detachably receiving a handle, said accessory comprising a suction fan having a sloping inlet pipe of suitable diameter to be received in the handle socket, and said fan itself having a socket dimensioned like the chamber socket in order to receive the handle.

j :3. An accessory for converting a non-suction fioor maintenance machine to a suction floor maintenance machine, the said non-suction machine having a horizontal circular tool having a horizontal circular back and being rotatable on a vertical axis, a housing forming a chamber above said tool and closely surrounding the periphery of the back of said tool, and a sloping tubular socket leading into said chamber and detachably receiving a handle, said accessory comprising a suction fan having a sloping inlet pipe of suitable diameter to be received in the handle socket, and said fan itself having a socket to receive the handle, and said accessory further comprising a flexible circular skirt dimensioned to be received around the periphery of the housing in lieu of a bumper guard and to extend downward close to the floor when the tool is resting on the floor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kirby Oct. 12, Kirby Dec. 26, Majusick May 5, Finnell Mar. 15, Welles et al Oct. 31, Replogle Aug. 13, Dow et a1. June 23,

FOREIGN PATENTS Denmark Dec. 5, France Feb. 15, Germany Nov. 12, 

